Means for operating secondary clocks



2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

' (No Model.)

G. A. JACKSON.

( MEANS FOR'OPERAT'ING SECONDARY CLOCKS. N0."301,601. Patented July 81884.

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- (No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. C. A. JACKSON.

MEANS. FOR OPERATING SECONDARY CLOCKS- I No. 301,601. PatentedJuly 8,1884 b A rm F a l) n Y E T S F 0 H 1 m 5- 5 Z c 1&6

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CHARLES ALMON JACKSON, OELAIVRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS.

MEANS FOR OPERATING SECONDARY CLOCKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 301,601, dated July 8,1884.

Application filed September 24, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

.Be it known that 1, CHARLES ALMoN JAOK- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Lawrence, in the county of Essex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectric Clocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to lettersor figures of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to means for operating one or more clocksthroughthe interposition of an electro-magnet and armature operating apropelling-escapement of the secondary clock through the influence of acircuitbreaker which governs said armature, and is itself driven by thepulsations of the standard clock by the same battery-power which oper-2, a cross-section, of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 8 is a viewof the circuitbreaker or commutator. Fig. at is an iso-, metricelevation of the device. Fig. 5 is a plan showing the connections withthe bell and battery.

In the above-named drawings, A represents the minute-hand arbor of astandard or main clock from which motion is to be communicated to aseries of clocks in different localities, the aim of my invention beingto maintain uniform time throughout a town, city, or other locality byoperating all its clocks from such standard.

B in the drawings represents a clock of any desired character, which isone of a series to be operated from-the standard, the frame of thisclock B being shown at a a, its dial at 1), its minute-hand at 0, itsminute-hand arborat c, its'hounhand at d, and its arbor at d, while theusual train of wheels is shown at efg h.

To carry out the principle of my invention in one form of application Iproceed as fol lows: In close proximity to the clock B, I 10- cate apair of electro-magnets, G D, over which .at its center to an uprightpost, G, erected upon the tablet or base-plate II of the clock.

The front end of the lever F is formed into I an anchor, I, withpallets, which take into a scape-wheel, J, fixed to the minute-handarbor c. Vibrations of the armature E impart intermittent rotations ofthe minute-hand and its arbor, as well as of the hour-hand and itsarbor, the usual dial-train of gearing being used to transmit motionfrom the arbor of the minute-hand to the hour-hand arbor sleevedthereon.

To the minute-hand arbor c, I secure a circular disk or commutator, i,and in front of this commutator I erect upon the base-plate of the clocktwo plate-springs, j k, the free ends of which bear upon the peripheryof the said commutator The commutator is composed of hard rubber orother effective insulating material, and has let into its periphery ablock or tooth, Z, of suitable conducting material.

To the spring is connected one end of a wire, m, whose opposite endconnects with the wire a from the positive pole of an electric battery,L, such wire a, after leaving the battery, being intercepted by acircuit-breaker, which is shown at M, and thence passing to the magnetD.

O in the drawings represents a wire from the negative pole of thebattery L as connecting with the magnet G, and having a branch wire, 0,connecting to one of the binding-posts, P, of an electric bell, which isshown at Q. To the other bindingrpost, It, of the bell one end of awire, 1), is connected, the opposite end of such wire connecting withthe spring 70, before named. v

The clock B, as herein arranged, indicates time by impulses of a minuteeach by the minute-hand, as. such hand is operated by power transmittedfrom the minute-hand of the stand ard clock.

If itis desired to mark seconds of time,the circuit-breaker will beconnected with the pendulum of the standard clock. I employ in thepresent instance a circuit-breaker secured to the bell.

and rotating with the minute-hand arbor A. of the standard clock,co1nposed ofa circular disk, S, of conducting material, into the peripheryol' which are inserted a series of non-conduct ing blocks, r, &c.,whilcupon opposite sides of the said disk S, I erect springs s t, the freeends of which bear upon the periphery of the disk. The springs st are soarranged that they both bear on the conducting part of the periphery,thus closing the circuit during a part of the time, while the disk S isrotating a distance equal to the interval between each proximate twoblocks, '2', but one of them passes to or is made to be in contact withone of said blocks, thus breaking the circuit before the other spring isout of contact with the con ducting part of the periphery. Thus thecircuit is alternately made and broken. Both springs might be made topass at once to and from the blocks 0'; but in that case the periodsduring which the circuit would be open could not be so long, relatively,as in the arrange ment first described. The wire a from the positivepole, alter leaving the battery, connects, first, with the spring 8,then is intercepted by the commutator M, and connects the spring t withthe magnet l). The non conducting blocks r of the circuit-breaker S areequidis tant,and sixty in number, to correspond to the number of minutesin an hour.

The operation of the above-described construction of parts is asfollows: Each beat of the minute-hand of the standard clock, or thepassage oi'suchhand past a given point at each minute of time, imparts alike movement to the minutehand arbor of the clock B by means oi thearmature 1*], escapement I, and scapewheel J, the armature beingattracted at each closure of the circuit through the disk S and thewires n 0. These movements of the minutc-han d ol'the clock ficontinuesynchronously with those of the standard clock until the hourhand ofsuch clock '3 arrives at the next succeeding hour-division ofitsdia1,when the conducting tooth or space 1 of the commutator z wipesagainst the springs j k and closes the circuit of the battery throughthe wires )1, m, p, and Q, and negative pole 0, thereby ringing As thenon-conducting division Z of the commutator '5 passes by the springs 3'7. the circuit through the bell is broken, not to be again closed untilat the lapse of an hour, the minute-hand continuing its movements at alltimes.

I do not confine myself to the form of commutator shown in Figs. 1 and 3of the drawings, as this may be varied from to a considerable extentwithout departing from the scope of my invention in this particular-as,'l'or instance, the non-conducting block or division I, in lieu of beinglet into the periphery of the disk, maybe inserted in each side of suchdisk and the springs arranged to bear respectively upon these blocks.Nor do I restrict myself to the precise form of cireuit-breakerhereinshown, as it is obvious that various forms may be employed withoutloosing sight of the gist of my invention in this regard, which 1'. consider to eonsistin the combinatiomwith a primary or standard clock andan auxiliary or secondary clock,and an escapement and wheel device, suchclock operated by the armature of an electro -magnet, of a suitablecircuitbreaker, by means of which the impulses o1 theprimary clock aretransmitted to the armature and escapement of the secondary clock.

I claim- 1. A rotating circuit closer and breaker carried by ahand-arbor of a standard clock, in combination with an eleetro-magnetin. the same circuit, devices operated by said electromagnct to give acorresponding motion to the corresponding arbor of a secondary clock, acircuit breaking and closing disk carried by the latter arbor andoperating to shunt the circuit at regular intervals, and an alarm actuated by the said shunt-circuit, substantially as set forth.

2. The rotary circular circuit closer and breaker S, provided with nonconducting blocks 1' in its periphery, in combination with the springs si, wiping against said periphery, said springs being arranged to bearsi1nultaneously for a moment against the conducting parts of the disk,though one spring is in contact with block 9- before the other leavessaid conducting part, an clectro-magnet included in the same electriccircuit with said device S, a hand-arbor of a standard or main clock, towhich arbor said device S is attached and with which it turns, anddevices which are open ated by said electro-magnet at intervalsdepending on the breaking and closing of said circuit, to cause asimilar motion of the corresponding arbor of a secondary clock,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whercofI a flix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES ALMON JLUQIKSON.

'Witn'esses:

F. CURTIS, A. F. HAYDEN.

